The Grateful Dead

Well, honey, "Black Throated Wind" by the Grateful Dead is all about a man reflecting on a failed relationship and the harsh realities of life. The lyrics paint a picture of a guy trying to find his way in a world that keeps knocking him down. So, basically, it's a poetic way of saying life can be a real pain in the you-know-what.

According to Phil Lesh in his biography, the band named Greatful Dead picked its name from a dictionary. Jerry Garcia picked up an old Britannica World Language Dictionary and found Greatful Dead. its definition is "the soul of a dead person, or his angel, showing gratitude to someone who, as an act of charity, arranged their burial."

According to a Pro Sound News article from 1996, concert promoter, John Scher claims, "the Grateful Dead are unquestionably the highest grossing band in cumulatively in the history of the music business." Not sure if that stands true 15 years later.

Jerry and Bobby were on Letterman. They Were on Saturday Night Live too. Jerry helped write a skit I read somewhere.

??? > It was written to celebrate the birth of Bob Weir'd daughter - Cassidy.

According to Wikipedia, retrieved June 5, 2011: "The song was named after the daughter of Grateful Dead crew member Rex Jackson and Weir's former housemate Eileen Law, Cassidy Law who was born in 1970." See Wikipedia entry "Cassidy (song)" for more information.

The band's first show was at Magoo's Pizza in Menlow Park, CA on May 5, 1965 while still calling themselves The Warlocks.

The Grateful Deads, under that name, first live performances were house parties with the Merry Pranksters during Ken Kesey's traveling experiment known as The Acid Tests.

The first recorded show (1st of over 2000 recorded shows) at a major venue was at The Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, CA on January 8, 1966.

I would say hundreds of billions

Yes there are 4. Doug Irwin built two that are displayed, rosebud and headless. Tiger was on display but was given back as part of a lawsui. Stephen Cripe built Jerry's last guitars, tophat and lightning bolt are displayed.

The Dead had four keyboardists.

Ron "Pig Pen" McKernon

Brent Mydland

Keith Godschaux

Vince Welnick

Every one of them died a young, unatural death. Vince killed himself a few years ago and the rest died of drug overdoses.

They were an excuse to get high and socialize with like minded people.They had the biggest following for this sort of recreation,so it would be your first choice ,if that's what you want. I am/was neutral towards what they put out as a musical product. It seems like everyone loved them to death.

On July 9, one month to the day before the Death of Jerry Garcia, the Grateful Dead played their last show at Soldier Field in Chicago, IL. According to Dead Base, an organization that has been tracking set lists for the Dead since the early 80's this was their 2,318th show.

The original members of the Grateful Dead were Jerry Garcia (guitar), Bob Weir (guitar), Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (keys, harp), Phil Lesh (bass) and Bill Kreutzmann (drums).  Prior to adopting in the name the 'Grateful Dead' in late 1965, the band was known as the Warlocks.  The Warlocks played two or three shows in Palo Alto in May/June 1965 with Dana Morgan, Jr., on bass, before Phil Lesh replaced him.

Jerry Garcia was considered the front man and lead singer of the Grateful Dead. Bob Weir sang lead on many popular songs also.

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Phil Lesh from the Grateful Dead first started playing the violin. In high school he switched to trumpet. He later learned to play the bass guitar when he joins the Warlocks in 1964.

Only one top 40 hit

Touch of Grey peaked at number 9 in 1987

Touch of Grey. Prior to it's release the Grateful Dead were playing concert venues at College Campus Theatres so small that graduations couldn't be held at the venue.

Contrary to Grateful Dead Merchandising, In the 1960's they were a bad band opening for Janis Joplin.

Technically, the Grateful Dead are a TWO hit wonder band. A "hit" is considered any song that reaches the top 40 in Billboard, and Truckin' hit #37 in 1970.

Really tough to gauge... Do you mean how much money did they make? I remember reading somewhat recently that Jerry alone is estimated to have a net worth of over 40 million dollars, but the band on a whole certainly has made much more.

But you could say they are worth much more than money can measure..... I owe them my life, i know that might not make a lot of sense to most but without The Grateful Dead i wouldn't be here today. It's one of those things you either understand or you don't...

I wouldn't trade their music for all the money on the planet....

Sorry man, not 100% sure what you meant, though i assume you meant money... Nothing wrong with that, great question :) Just thought i'd answer both possibilities :)

This is a tribute to a string-band called The New Lost City Ramblers, headed by John Cohen, which also included Mike Seeger and Tom Paley. The lyrics refer to several songs by that band such as "The Story The Crow Told Me", "Buckdancer's Choice", "Easy Street" and "Beggers Tune". They influenced many folk artists of the sixties, including the Grateful Dead.

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